COMMUNITIES Riverside life in a local town

Fifteen hundred years ago, people set up camps alongside a river and
into the woods. They stayed there a few months, maybe longer, until the
seasons or the food or their minds changed and then they moved on. For
many years they returned to the same spot, building homes on flat places,
playing games, making food. They left layers of stone chips and animal
bones, and even caches of supplies.

Two hundred years ago the landscape was quite changed as new immigrants
set up farms and towns. Now a mill stood along the riverbank. The mill
and its miller drew in neighbors to sell their grain, to buy flour or
meal, or to talk about politics. The complex was alive even after business
hours. Over time the mill’s significant role in local life and economy
was reflected in the expanding footprints of its buildings.

Twenty years ago the landscape was far more developed. Rows of town homes
sheltered people who commuted to work far away. Residents gathered their
food from the grocery store and drank municipal water. Yet much of what
took place along the riverbank would have been familiar to people from
hundreds or thousands of years before. People gathered there to fish,
play, for political rallies, and for special events.

Archeological investigations reveal the sites and artifacts suggestive
of a sense of community. Although the materials and people may change,
the common goal of working and living together is shared even today.

Case Studies

Sometimes it seems as if archeology magically makes
things appear where nothing was before. What was open, vacant land is
transformed into a 13th-century North American village with longhouses,
over 130 hearths, ovens, and storage pits. This was a great place to live,
but it's also prime land for the topsoil mines that will erase the traces
of its ancient and historic past. Sometimes, bringing in the community
can help develop a sense of place and meaning of archeological heritage
in the present. more +

Sometimes it is also true that archeology has magical powers to inspire
the public to care about the past. This is what the Community Archaeology
Program at Binghamton University in New York seeks to do. Its participants,
ranging in age from 15 to over 70, fill the positions of volunteers,
students, teachers, and interns. Together, and with outreach from CAP
archeologists, they learn the importance of preserving archeological
sites and their relevance in modern life.

Archeology’s magic gets the public excited about the past, and
engages them in wanting to preserve it. Community archeology encourages
public to participate and to care so that future generations can also
benefit from what the past has to say.

The town of Quincy, Illinois has had a history of
social life around a local swimming pool for decades. A recent renovation
incorporated archeological design elements from nearby Indian Mounds Park.
The new pool is a community-based (and funded) collaboration between the
Quincy Park District, Friends of Indian Mounds Park and Pool, and the
Quincy Museum with assistance from the Illinois State Museum. more +

The design of the new swimming pool incorporates elements from past
communities of the region. An amazing scenic vista of the Mississippi
River … Illinois’ first residents of 12,000 years ago. …
images of the “Adams Pot” and ancient cultures… these
are some of the ways that archeology underscores the history of community
in Quincy. But archeology also emphasizes the pool as a community-building,
safe social space for local families.

From the choice of representative motifs for the pool building’s
decorative tiles to local artists’ contributions of work inspired
by the mission of the project and the site, the Quincy Pool exemplifies
using archeology to encourage civic awareness and pride in the heritage
of a community.

A community's past can sometimes help lead the way
to its future. The heritage program of the White Mountain Apache Tribe
of Arizona weaves its archeological resources into programs addressing
community needs. Archeological resources help residents to educate their
children, create a healthier community, attract visitors, and foster employment. more +

The White Mountain Apache have worked with Bureau of Indian Affairs
archeologists to develop a management plan for their archeological resources.
This plan aims to balance Euroamerican-authored accounts of local history
with perspectives derived from oral tradition. The strategy boosts not
only community pride, but also tribal revenues from Fort Apache that
are put to work for the reservation community.

The program has provided the White Mountain Apache with tools for working
together and with people from outside the tribe on emotionally sensitive
issues in a constructive way. The Cultural Advisory Board meets to clarify
issues and in the process reaffirms the deep concerns of many White
Mountain Apaches with the protection of their heritage and of the need
to reach into Apache history and culture for guidance and principles
useful in addressing contemporary problems.

The archeological story of the Woolen Mills Chinatown
puts the people and communities who today live in San Jose, California
on a path toward learning together about the effects of history. As archeological
investigations found, many different communities have lived along the
Guadalupe river for thousands of years. Their stories help people today
talk about their concerns. more +

During the 19th century, Chinese residents of San Jose faced constant
derision and cultural prejudice. The local Chinese population was burned
out of their homes on the site of the present-day Fairmont Hotel in
1887. Many of the people, mostly single men, moved closer to the Woolen
Mills, where they also worked. Despite hardship, the people of Woolen
Mills created a place to live and work, play, talk, and feel safe.

From ceramics and building footprints, combined with the words and
documents that influenced life at Woolen Mills, archeology reveals building
blocks for the modern Chinese American communities of San Jose to talk
about the past. Archeologists shared their work with the Chinese American
community, working in particular with the Chinese Historical and Cultural
Project (CHCP) to involve locals in the new discoveries of what was
thought to be lost.

Students, volunteers, and adults worked together to uncover the past,
and in the process engaged in dialogue to form a new sense of San Jose—past
and present.

Lower Elwha Klallam tribal members see the discovery
of the ancient village of Tse-whit-zenh as both a blessing and a curse.
Modern descendants are saddened to disturb their ancestors in graves.
Yet the glimpse into how they lived and the chance to touch parts of their
history has rejeuvenated the local community's sense of identity and connection
to the past. more +

The Tse-whit-zenh village was inadvertently discovered during construction
on the Port Angeles waterfront. Work was stopped on construction, and
among those hired to excavate the site were local descendants of the
Tse-whit-zenh community. The excavation brought tribal members face-to-face
with their history. Working side by side, archeologists and Lower Elwha
Klallam tribal members have excavated burials, remains of buildings,
and evidence of community life dating back at least 2,700 years.

Many see a cultural revival happening as a result of the excavation
of Tse-whit-zenh. The Lower Elwha share their archeological experiences
of archeology with other tribes and the public in language classes,
public-school curriculum and community presentations. Descendants learned
to make tools and objects like their ancestors did, rediscovered lost
cultural practices and traditions, and gained a more intimate understanding
of how their people may have suffered. Some of the excavators talk about
feeling closer to their history and heritage, and a link to their identity
and culture. The end of the Tse-whit-zenh project, too, is a blessing
and a curse, for while it cost hundreds of jobs, its effects are sure
to inspire the community.

Community-based archeology projects have enormous potential.
People can address community needs ranging from the economic benefits
of tourism, to education in schools, to concerns over development growth,
and more.

Archeology projects help people to practice skills,
such as communication or teamwork, that are necessary for building strong
communities. Community members also benefit from a diversity of abilities
and perspectives. As a community-building tool, archeology offers many
ways for people to learn and grow together.